Putting a jack under the axles

[1231ChaseB]

I've seen a lot of discussion about how to place a jack under the axle so today i went to Tractor Supply and bought a thing called a spring mount !
10 bucks ! Put a piece of oak inside of it and cut the circle ! I don't know if this is better or not but it will make you feel better about jacking one of these big rascal's up without putting a dent in the axle ! I'm going to make an effort to put some pic's of it !
chaseb

 

[westxsrt10]

Two of those side by side should do it. Angle iron worked for me as a safe way to lift heavy pipe. The key having enough surface area under the axle so it doesn't get damaged.

 

[mikeandconnie]

I like the tool, good job! I just changed my first tire at a interstate rest area and wish I had it. Even with the 6 point level up, I still had to lift the axle about a inch to get the tire off.

 

[Gaffer]

There have been several posts on this.

 

[1231ChaseB]

I'm envious of the underneath of your unit ! Mine's a 2010 and it look's like crap with all the rust !
chaseb

 

[berky]

Just bought the same item at Etrailer. Something like $3 .... plus shipping of course. They have sizes to match the 3 most common axle OD's. I like your idea of the oak inside, so I'll do the same.

There has indeed been a lot of discussion about jacking under the axles. As long as I use one of these puppies and jack close to the wheel, I'm not going to lose any sleep.

 

[mattpopp]

Two of those side by side should do it. Angle iron worked for me as a safe way to lift heavy pipe. The key having enough surface area under the axle so it doesn't get damaged.

always been a fan of the angle iron idea

 

[wdk450]

Gang:
Let me add some more firewood to the fire. The other day someone was asking about wiring on Dexter axles, and a number of reference articles from Dexter were linked. I remember reading in one of them that Dexter recommends jacking on the frame only. I went searching for that this morning, didn't find the exact same piece of literature, but did find this on the Dexter FAQ's page:
"

MISCELLANEOUS - Is it okay to jack up my trailer? Dexter recommends that you do not jack up the trailer on the suspension components because there is always the potential for damage. Bent hangers, leaf springs, or axle tubes can cause bad axle alignment with bad tire wear resulting. Also, many trailer builders do not use Dexter hangers and we have no idea how strong these hangers may or may not be. Therefore, we take the conservative approach and recommend jacking up only on the trailer frame."

 

[cookie]

Bill, thanks for the information from Dexter. The same warning applies to the Lippert axles on their web site.
Although it's fairly common to jack on the axles, I personally would follow the manufacturers recommendations. I don't know more than they do.

Peace
Dave